With so many IPA's on the market these days I find myself disappointed more often than happy. Excluding the ones I mention (if you like them just like this post instead) tell me some IPA's that you feel are the best of the best. Lets keep it to west coast, or west coast distributed beers only. It's not that I have something against other regions, I don't, I just can't get my hands on them before they start loosing their magic. These are a few of my favorites;

With so many IPA's on the market these days I find myself disappointed more often than happy. Excluding the ones I mention (if you like them just like this post instead) tell me some IPA's that you feel are the best of the best. Lets keep it to west coast, or west coast distributed beers only. It's not that I have something against other regions, I don't, I just can't get my hands on them before they start loosing their magic. These are a few of my favorites;

Pure Hoppiness, Nelson or any IPA from Alpine for that matter. Also Sculpin, Racer 5, Aroma Coma, Blind Pig, Alesmith IPA, Mongo, Enjoy by, Ruination 10th to name a few. I have not been privileged enough to taste Citra yet but hopefully some day soon.

Boneyard owns the West Coast IPA racket, imo. RPM is out of this world and really can't be touched in the single IPA department. I'd say right behind that is Sculpin, Blind Pig, and Union Jack. For doubles, Hop Venom, FW Double Jack, Stone's Ruination, and Hair of the Dog's Blue Dot stand at the top of my list. We did really enjoy the Shipwrecked DIPA from Mission Brewing while down in San Diego. Of course, everything that Lagunitas touches in the IPA dept is pure gold. All the following beers from them seem to be a derivative of IPA to me: Sucks, Brown Shugga, Sumpin' Sumpin', Sumpin' Wild, and Hop Stoopid are all incredibly good and widely available in the PDX.

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Haven't seen Boneyard beers down in So Cal. Hear good things about them though.

drinkin one now. a friend of mine who had never tried it described it as a thicker, stronger KRBC Just Outstanding. Then brought home a JO a few days later and sure enough, similar profile.

Best of the West?
KRBC JO will always be a favorite, as well as FW UJ which is what I drink mostly, RR PtE is always a treat, Lagunitas IPA (seriously, I haven't tired of that flavor yet) and Sucks, Drakes Aroma Coma, Sierra Nevada Torpedo was the best beer I had ever tasted one night while taking psylocybin in a first amendment religious freedom kind of way, knee deep simtra tastes pretty f'ing good right now, stone makes some fantastic imperials, green flash can't go wrong there, homebrews locally from people have probably made me say wow more that commercial brews. well maybe not, but it's close.

Just downed a half glass of Sculpin - wow, not sure I've had this before but it is very rich. A bit on the bitter-aftertaste side for me but I can't get over how much aroma it has ... smelling all the usual good stuff: pineapple, grapefruit, liche (yes, look it up) and even some mango. Taste is not as drastic or complete but aroma is amazing.

Nothing goes down as smooth as a FW DJ, now on tap at Handles, along with FW UJ.

Beer Trader

Im surprised to see Societe's Pupil getting so much love in here. I went to Societe on the way home after a trip to Alpine last week and found their beers to be rather unremarkable. I believe Pupil and The Butcher (their Imperial Stout) are by far their best beers but wouldn't even put them anywhere near the same level as Alpine. With that being said, here's my list.

Im surprised to see Societe's Pupil getting so much love in here. I believe Pupil and The Butcher (their Imperial Stout) are by far their best beers but wouldn't even put them anywhere near the same level as Alpine.

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I think Pupil is about as close you can get to Nelson without actually having Nelson.

Try Beachwoods Alpha Supreme. . . .nelson hops! But more like Hoppy Birthday. Very drinkable and full of flavor. IMO.

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Alpha Supreme may be BETTER than Hoppy Birthday IMHO. My god is that insane beer, stopped in Beechwood for growler fills of Hop Jitzu and had a taste of Alpha. BTW, Hop Jitzu may be one of the best Citra IPA I have had in a long time ! Unbelievable quality craft coming from Beechwood right now. I am now putting them up with Alpine, Kern and RR for my tastes.